CURVE, Pa. – The Altoona Curve dropped the final game of their weekend series, 5-4, to the Richmond Flying Squirrels on Sunday afternoon at Peoples Natural Gas Field despite a second straight game with double figures in the hit column.
(Photo courtesy of Altoona Curve)
The Flying Squirrels (12-6) claimed two out of three games with the help of six home runs in their first series against the Curve (8-7).
Altoona starting pitchers were the last unit at the Double-A level to pitch at least five innings in every game this season, but Taylor Hearn (Loss, 0-2) was pulled with two outs in the fifth shortly after Richmond scored their fifth run of the day. Hearn ended his third start of the season with six hits allowed, two walks and five strikeouts.
Christian Kelley swatted his first Double-A home run, a two-run blast, in the second inning that gave the Curve a 3-2 lead. Wyatt Mathisen, on base for Kelley’s homer, set up the third RBI of the game for Altoona’s catcher with a leadoff, sixth-inning triple trailed by the second of three hits by Kelley.
Richmond jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on a two-run homer by Jonah Arenado. The Flying Squirrels took the lead for good in the fourth inning thanks to a Ronnie Jebavy RBI triple followed by an RBI single by Ronnie Freeman.
The first three Curve batters to face Richmond reliever Ryan Halstead all reached base safely, but the Curve could only muster one run during the sixth. Altoona also stranded two baserunners in the eighth and had two aboard with one out in the ninth before Will Craig lined into a double play to end the ballgame.
The Flying Squirrels added a crucial insurance run in the fifth inning after their starting pitcher, Shaun Anderson (Win, 3-1), clubbed a double to center field. Anderson scored on an RBI single by Ryan Howard to give Richmond a 5-4 lead.
Kelley finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBIs while Mathisen went 1-for-1 and reached four times on a walk and two hit-by-pitch. Craig joined Kelley with a multi-hit performance and went 2-for-5.
The Curve received 4.1 scoreless frames from the bullpen trio of Logan Sendelbach, Jake Brentz and Tate Scioneaux. Brentz and Scioneaux retired the final nine Richmond batters in order.
The Curve continue their six-game homestand on Monday and open a three-game set against the Erie SeaWolves, Double-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. Right-hander J.T. Brubaker (0-1, 2.25) will start for Altoona and Erie will tab right-hander Beau Burrows (1-1, 1.93) as its starter.
